Wednesday, November 5, 2014. Chaos and violence continue, Barack wants
to talk Iraq, there's talk of trying to get Congress to authorize his
bombing of Iraq, Haider al-Abadi looks ever weaker, the Iraqi people
will suffer greatly under his proposed budget and much more.

President Barack Obama: Ed Henry. I missed you guys. I haven't done this in a while.

Q I know, I’ve missed you. Thank you, Mr. President. I
haven't heard you say a specific thing during this news conference that
you would do differently. You’ve been asked it a few different ways. I
understand you’re going to reach out, but you’ve talked about doing
that before. It’s almost like you’re doubling down on the same policies
and approach you’ve had for six years. So my question is, why not pull
a page from the Clinton playbook and admit you have to make a much more
dramatic shift in course for these last two years?

And on ISIS, there was pretty dramatic setback in the last
few days with it appearing that the Syrian rebels have been routed.
There are some Gitmo detainees who have rejoined the battlefield,
helping ISIS and other terror groups, is what the reports are
suggesting. So my question is, are we winning?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think it’s too early to say
whether we are winning, because as I said at the outset of the ISIL
campaign, this is going to be a long-term plan to solidify the Iraqi
government, to solidify their security forces, to make sure that in
addition to air cover that they have the capacity to run a ground game
that pushes ISIL back from some of the territories that they had taken,
that we have a strong international coalition that we’ve now built, but
that they are on the ground providing the training, providing the
equipment, providing the supplies that are necessary for Iraqis to fight
on behalf of their territory.

I understand what Barack means when he says "long-term plan to solidify
the Iraqi government," but I understood him when he was talking about
how the only answer was a political solution.

So my question is, is he sincere or lying?

If he's sincere, it would those supposedly working with him or either stupid or working to subvert his aims.

Tuesday morning, we noted:Word is the Kurds have about had it with al-Abadi.But you don't see that in the press do you?Last week, not covered in the US or western press, former Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani sent a delegation to Baghdad to speak about
serious issues and how the rift between the KRG and the central
government out of Baghdad was again widening. Among the issues
resurfacing are the failure of al-Abadi to pass a budget for 2014 or
2015 (he inherited the failure to pass the 2014 budget) and the attempts
to prevent the Kurds from selling their own oil.At a time when the KRG is denied federal funds and when the KRG's
fighters (the Peshmerga) are carrying a heavy load, Talabani's
delegation expressed the opinion that now is not the time to be pursuing
Nouri's failed politics.Though pleasantries were exchanged, the delegation wasn't stupid enough
to be mollified by pretty words. If the rift widens, look for things to
get even worse in Iraq -- and who would have thought that was possible?

Matt Bradley and Ghassan Adnan (Wall St. Journal) report
on the budgets (2014 and 2015) today and also on the conflict between
the KRG and Baghdad while getting it right -- something few do -- about
what came first (Nouri's withholding the 17% of the federal budget the
Kurds are entitled to) in this economic battle. As the 2014 budget
continues to elude the Iraqi government, new prime minister Aider
al-Abadi is making weapons and violence his spending priority and
slashing everything else:

Mr. Abadi’s cuts have pushed budget
expenditures this year down to 137 trillion Iraqi dinars ($117.9
billion) from a projected outlay of 171 trillion ($147.16 billion).

The
cuts have been painful. Plans were scrapped to hire some 37,000 new
government employees—including doctors and teachers—and raises were
delayed for existing ones. The government has also postponed plans for
new student loans and scholarships, said Majda al-Tamimi, who represents
the government-allied Sadrist bloc on the finance committee.

There’s
even talk in parliament of cutting spending on orphans and on
elementary-education projects, according to some lawmakers.

That helps no one, that's nonsense and it's outrageous but set aside the ethical issues.

It's also stupid politics.

Deeply stupid.

Iraqis need jobs. Iraq needs doctors and teachers.

The inability to create jobs in the recent past in Iraq led to what?

Oh, that's right, Sunnis joining al Qaeda in Iraq.

Gutting student loans and scholarships?

Exactly what the hell is al-Abadi doing.

And let's stop lying that he's protecting the country.

Getting foreigners to bomb your own country from airplanes -- and
tossing a few of your war planes into the air -- is not providing safety
or addressing any issues.

It's actually both stupid and cowardly.

It's the Chicken Hawk way for War Hawks to cowardly to fight on the ground.

You want to run the 20,000 or 30,000 people out of country with over 30 million people?

You don't need bombs falling from the skies.

You need people on the ground willing to rebuke, forget fight, the Islamic State.

In 2010, the Iraqi people cast votes to stand for a national identity and that's still possible.

But that embarrassing budget won't do a damn thing to pull the country together.

If the US government, if Barack wanted to help, he would have a US
diplomatic delegation in Iraq explaining how to utilize the budget in a
manner to pull the country together.

Equally true, the Iraqi government needs to be going after Nouri
al-Maliki and Nouri's son whose theft of public monies is an open secret
and Iraqis suffering in poverty aren't going to embrace further poverty
measures while thieves like Nouri remain unpunished.

He doesn't just remain unpunished, he remains in the presidential palace despite not being prime minister. He refuses to leave.

If Haider al-Abadi had any sense, he's send the military to force Nouri out and you better believe Iraqis would cheer him on.

When Haider can't even reside in the prime minister's housing because
former prime minister Nouri won't leave, he looks weak and inept.

He's looked weak and inept since his September 13 announcement that he
had ended the bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods -- since he
made the announcement and the bombings continued. NINA notes
9 civilians were killed today and twenty-three more ("including women
and children") were left injured from the security forces' bombings.

Q Also if it is your feeling that you have the
power to implement any type of agreement that's reached without any
action from Congress? And then, also I just wanted to quickly touch on
the AUMF that you mentioned earlier. Is that going to be more of a
codification of the limits that you've put in place for the mission up
to this point? Or what should we be looking for on that when you send
it to the Hill? Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: On the AUMF, the leaders are going to be
coming here on Friday. It will be an expanded group, not just the four
leaders, but a larger group who all have an interest in the issues we're
discussing today. And I’m actually going to invite Lloyd Austin, the
CENTCOM Commander, to make a presentation about how our fight against
ISIL is proceeding and I think to answer questions and assure that
Congress is fully briefed on what we're doing there.

With respect to the AUMF, we’ve already had conversations
with members of both parties in Congress, and the idea is to right-size
and update whatever authorization Congress provides to suit the current
fight, rather than previous fights.

In 2001, after the heartbreaking tragedy of 9/11, we had a
very specific set of missions that we had to conduct, and the AUMF was
designed to pursue those missions. With respect to Iraq, there was a
very specific AUMF.

We now have a different type of enemy. The strategy is
different. How we partner with Iraq and other Gulf countries and the
international coalition -- that has to be structured differently. So it
makes sense for us to make sure that the authorization from Congress
reflects what we perceive to be not just our strategy over the next two
or three months, but our strategy going forward.

And it will be a process of listening to members of
Congress, as well as us presenting what we think needs to be the set of
authorities that we have. And I’m confident we're going to be able to
get that done. And that may just be a process of us getting it started
now. It may carry over into the next Congress.

US House Rep Adam Schiff supports Barack's continued war on Iraq and today's Schiff's office issued the following:

Wednesday November 05, 2014

Washington, DC –Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a senior Member of the Intelligence Committee and author of legislation providing a limited and narrow authorization for use of military force against ISIL, sent
a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner calling on him to
schedule a debate and vote on a new war authorization against ISIS
during the lame duck session after the midterm election. During his
press conference today, President Obama called for Congress to approve a
new authorization for use of military force against ISIS. The letter is below: Dear Speaker Boehner: As you prepare for the session that will close out the 113th Congress, I urge you to schedule time for consideration of an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL.
As you know, American forces have been engaged in combat against ISIL
since early August with operations currently underway against targets in
both Iraq and Syria. President Obama has made repeated reports, as
required by the War Powers Resolution, detailing these operations. Now,
after three months of presidentially-directed airstrikes and other
activities undertaken to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat” ISIL, Congress
must meet the obligations of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution by
deciding whether to grant the president the power to conduct this new
war in the Middle East. The use of the 2001 AUMF as legal
justification for current the military action requires an
extraordinarily broad and problematic reading of that measure. While
ISIL may share al Qaeda’s hatred for the United States and the West, the
group did not exist in 2001 and had no role in the 9/11 attacks. Nor is
ISIL affiliated with or aiding al Qaeda, having been expressly
repudiated by the Zawahiri leadership, and, despite reports of talks
between the two groups, little evidence of an alliance between them.
Vehement opposition to Bashar al Assad’s brutal government in Syria and
the harshly sectarian policies of Nouri al Maliki in Iraq, not 9/11 or
allegiance to Osama bin Laden, has fueled the rise of ISIL and allowed
it to capture a huge swathe of territory in those two countries. From
this redoubt, ISIL threatens tens of millions and the group’s extreme
violence and barbarity, including the recent mass murder of a Sunni
tribe in Iraq’s Anbar province, cannot be underestimated. I
believe that the threat to core American foreign policy interests and
our national security from ISIL is sufficient to warrant military force
as an element of a multifaceted campaign. But, I also believe that no
President has the power to commit the nation’s sons and daughters to war
without authorization from Congress. This is not a decision that can
or should wait until 2015; this action was begun during the sitting of
the 113th Congress and it well within our ability to authorize it properly before adjourning sine die.
In September I introduced a draft Joint Resolution (HJ Res 125) that
provides for an 18 month authorization for continued airstrikes and
limited special operations activities in Iraq and Syria and against
ISIL. While I believe that my proposal merits consideration, whether
it, or some other form of authorization, is ultimately taken up, the
most important thing is for us to do our duty to American people and the
Constitution. I look forward to working with you on this most
important issue.

Today, the US Defense Dept announced:
In Iraq, an airstrike near Mosul destroyed ISIL-occupied buildings,
including one housing a generator used for oil production and another
used to manufacture explosive devices. Three airstrikes near Bayji
struck two small ISIL units, destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL-occupied
bunker and an ISIL anti-aircraft artillery piece. Also in Iraq,
an airstrike near Fallujah struck a small ISIL unit and destroyed an
ISIL vehicle. Three airstrikes near Ramadi damaged an ISIL vehicle and
destroyed an ISIL checkpoint.

WHAT:
On Thursday, November 13th, 2014, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of
America (IAVA) will hold IAVA’s Annual Heroes Gala Celebrating Our 10th
Anniversary at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Taking place for
the eighth year in a row, and when U.S. troops are still at war, this
year’s Heroes Gala will honor those who have made a unique and lasting
contribution to IAVA’s mission to improve the lives of Iraq and
Afghanistan veterans and their families.WHO:
IAVA will honor Admiral Mike Mullen, 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, with the IAVA Veteran Leadership Award, and Uber CEO and
co-founder Travis Kalanick with the IAVA Civilian Service Award. Willie
Geist, co-anchor of NBC’s “TODAY” show and MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” will
host the event. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald will also be speaking at the event.Veterans
and supporters will attend, as well as representatives from leading
sponsors Victory Motorcycles (Hero Sponsor); TriWest Healthcare, Turner
Broadcasting, and USAA (Dinner Sponsors); Robert Cohn, Steven &
Alexandra Cohen Foundation, HBO, JPMorgan Chase, Miller High Life, Uber,
Western Asset Management, Wheel's Up, and WME/IMG (Support
Sponsors). Southwest Airlines, IAVA's official airline partner, will
also be in attendance. New York City Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Loree Sutton, Lone Survivor director Peter Berg, actress Michelle Monaghan and more will also be in attendance. WHEN: Thursday, November 13, 2014 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Press check-in: 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. (Cipriani 42nd Street)

Sponsor Reception 5:30 - 6:30pm (Cipriani 42nd Street)

Cocktail Reception 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. (Cipriani 42nd Street)

Dinner & Award Presentation: 7:30 – 9:30pm (Cipriani 42nd Street)

WHERE: Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017

Livestream the gala at http://new.livestream.com/newvets

Note to media: A mult box will be provided at the venue. Please RSVP by emailing press@iava.org if you would like to cover the Gala.Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org)
is the nation's first and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
representing veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and has nearly 300,000
Member Veterans and civilian supporters nationwide. Celebrating its 10th
year anniversary, IAVA recently received the highest rating -
four-stars - from Charity Navigator, America's largest charity
evaluator.